Greek People's Liberation Army

The Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) was the paramilitary wing of the Greek National Liberation Front (EAM) during World War II. ELAS was founded in 1942 by the Communist Party of Greece and other leftist parties, and it grew to have between 50,000 and 100,000 fighters. ELAS forces were supported by the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom's SOE, and Aris Velouchiotis led a resistance campaign against the occupying armies of Nazi Germany and Italy from the mountains. The Italian armistice in 1943 and the German evacuation of the Balkans in 1944 enabled ELAS to take control of three-fifths of the country, and ELAS engaged in violent clashes with the liberal and anti-communist EDES resistance movement. In 1945, ELAS was disarmed due to the liberation of Greece from the Axis Powers, and many ELAS veterans would join the Democratic Army of Greece in 1946 during the Greek Civil War.